[orthobiz]

This stuff is used in the operating room for enzymatically cleaning scopes. One ounce mixes into one gallon. Apparently will not harm anything, including metal, rubber, plastic, etc. Vinyl's a plastic, right?

And where I work, the stuff is plentiful, they have gallon squirt bottles of it. Enzymatically digests bacteria, blood, fecal matter and vomital matter, anything organic.

So, I am gonna mix some up. Recently I came into a bunch of somewhat moldy smelling records (kinda faint odor, no visible mold on the records), so I'll try it and report back. Some of these records are noisy as hell. I have a Loricraft cleaner so I don't anticipate ruining any brushes, a new piece of thread touches each record for cleaning.

If I'm crazy for trying then SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! I was gonna get Buggtussel but hey, maybe it's the same kinda stuff.

Paul

[woodsyi]

See this thread. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=53586.0

I got that stuff and used it.  Works fine and does not ruin vinyl. I use VPI cleaning machine.

[TheChairGuy]

Hey Paul...

I had a wash-out in my garage a few years ago, before I had rightfully come back to vinyl, and hundreds of my albums were in there (in boxes).  It took me a while to get to them and, no surprise, they were full of bacteria/mildew.  Disgusting actually....the album sleeves were totally shot and many of the album covers were, too. 

The discs merely smelled and had obvious signs of mildew on them.

Back then I gave a shit about cables and the like and was buying a bunch from LAT International.  His products were good so I bought their record cleaner called Kleer-Disk.  You add your own distilled water and the price is quite reasonable.  It has anti-bacterial agents and has been used for many albums now and restored to perfect health (and smell) since the wash out

http://www.latinternational.com/index.php/product/kleer-disk.html

Regards, John

[orthobiz]

Well, an unlistenably noisy Led Zeppelin II album was my first test.

It is STILL unlistenably noisy. But I sure do feel like it's clean!

Then, success! I cleaned a moderately noisy Elton John record I got from mcp a while back.
Great improvement!!

Paul

[Wayner]

It may take several applications for the chemical to take effect. Another problem is there really isn't a mechanical "helper" to get all the way down into the grooves. With play and repeated cleaning is should clear up.

Wayner

[orthobiz]

I use a sponge paintbrush to spread this stuff around. I have some of the various applicator brushes including the Allsop Orbitrac 2. But I always feel like I'm "using up" the pads and that the next record will have some remnant of the last.

Paul

[jtwrace]

Can this stuff be instead of Nitty Gritty Pure2?

http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/fluids.htm

[orthobiz]

As an orthopaedic surgeon, I was always struck by how the entire orthopaedic field accounts for a tiny fraction of the stainless steel used in industry. That meant that we were "stuck" with only a few formulations of stainless steel, most notably Type 316L, for use in people. While good old 316 is a great material, one could hypothesize that other materials would have better properties, whether it be modulus of elasticity or strength, etc.

So we were told that ortho was "too little" to merit its "very own" formulation.

This reasoning always makes me wonder about where individual little companies in the analog world fit in with respect to their various concoctions of cleaning materials. In other words, is it easy to come up with your own fluid or is it simply another mixture of easily procured stuff used in other industries. In this case, the medical field.

This is a longwinded round about way of saying I don't know about the Nitty Gritty fluid or the Buggtussel or this or that or the other. But I'm sure gonna stick to Endozime. And as Wayner said, it's good for cleaning off face plate fingerprints!

Paul

[jtwrace]

This is a longwinded round about way of saying I don't know about the Nitty Gritty fluid or the Buggtussel or this or that or the other. But I'm sure gonna stick to Endozime. And as Wayner said, it's good for cleaning off face plate fingerprints!

Paul

Thanks.     I will get some to try.   

[blakep]

I can't speak to the Endozime specifically and hope that this isn't construed to be taking this off topic but I can heartily recommend AIVS #15, which is a combination enzyme/detergent cleaner designed to be used as a first stage cleaner followed by ultrapure water as a rinse.

I've used Nitty Gritty Pure 2, Mobile Fidelity Enzyme, Mobile Fidelity Super Deep Cleaner, Mobile Fidelity Super Vinyl Wash and a couple of DIY solutions utilizing dishwashing detergents, isopropyl, etc. FWIW, unless you have something very, very sticky on a record, I am not a fan of using any alcohol to clean records. Except in very rare circumstances it is useless IMO and not particularly effective as a cleaner for records.

The AIVS 15 is not cheap by DIY standards: you're probably looking at around 20 cents a record vs. a few pennies with DIY. But it is the most effective cleaner I've used by far and kills 2 birds with one stone in that it combines enzymes and detergent/surfactants with one cleaning step. The use of ultrapure water as a final wash/rinse is equally important IMO and also not worth skimping on. You can purchase very high purity/reagent grade water in bulk that will allow you to fully rinse records a couple of times following the first stage cleaner for literally pennies per application. It is worth it, again IMO.

The attached photos show a couple of grungier records I've cleaned. They were given to me because they were water damaged and had been left to sit in wet jackets and inner sleeves. In looking closely beyond the mold and dirt, though, it appeared that they had been essentially unplayed. Covered in white mold though and some of the paper inner sleeves had dissolved and essentially welded themselves into the grooves. These records looked disgusting but now play near mint following a cleaning using the AIVS and two rinses with ultrapure water. I also did some steaming following the rinse cycles.

With records like this the key is longer soak times with the first stage cleaner so the AIVS #15 was allowed to sit for 15 minutes per side, being agitated a couple of times in that period before being vacuumed off.

[orthobiz]

No problem, it's ALL on topic when it comes to vinyl care!

Paul

[J-Pak]

I use VinylZyme that Loricraft's US distributor recommends. It seems to work well for me on some records. I don't use it all that often so the small spray bottle has lasted me quite a while.

I posted this a while back on AA

I have had great success with my Bugtessel VinylZyme. I received a UK first pressing Track Records copy of Hendrix Band of Gipsies (A ▽1, B=1. Gypsy's is a misspelling on the label) that looked terrible. What I believe was visible mold streaking or some other white substance. After enzyme treatments I managed to get all of it off, with DiscDoctor Miracle doing the last bit of cleaning. All vacuuming done with my Loricraft PRC-4.

The LP which looked VG- / weak VG, I'd say now plays back a very solid VG+ with surface noise most obvious in between tracks and when Hendrix speaks his intro to songs.

[andyr]

I use a sponge paintbrush to spread this stuff around. I have some of the various applicator brushes including the Allsop Orbitrac 2. But I always feel like I'm "using up" the pads and that the next record will have some remnant of the last.

Paul

I don't think a sponge paintbrush will get the liguid down into the grooves, enough to do a good job?  So I suggest to get some Disk Doctor-type ("felt") brushes to use exclusively for this enzyme stuff.  Or buy re-fill pads and make up your own "brush" to hold them.

Regards,

Andy

[neobop]

Can this stuff be instead of Nitty Gritty Pure2?

http://www.nittygrittyinc.com/fluids.htm

That stuff looks good. I've been using Pure 2, forever.  Yrs ago I compared it to others using a 16.5 and it was by far the best IMO.  More recently I tried AI One Step. I still have most of a bottle left. Enzymes might get finger prints and peanut butter, but don't get chemicals like mold release compounds on new records. Even though I use a Nitty Gritty brush, a white layer of goo was left in the groove with a couple of new ones I broke down and bought.  I suspect the goo was some kind of chemical reaction, I don't really know. It coated the stylus and rendered a mediocre pressing, unlistenable.  Pure 2 cleaned it up.

I agree with Andy, I use a specially designed cleaning brush to get in the groove. The brushes can be cleaned and there's no reason not to have one or two specially designed ones like VPI or NG.  Even though there may be surfactants, the fluid tends to sit on top.
Mold release compounds are added to the vinyl formulation itself.  It migrates to the surface with heat, when a record is pressed. I never saw a white goo like that before.  Maybe I got a bad bottle of AI off fleabey?  Maybe it's because I use Pure 2.  I have 25 yr old records bought new and cleaned once or twice that are dead silent between cuts.  Whatever works.  Some people have thousands of records and I for one, don't want to spend half my life cleaning records, but it's a necessary chore. Steaming seems to be very effective also.  There is a good thread about that.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=90444.0

Blakep, Nice job on those salvage records.  I really like the McCoy Tyner.  Inception is a favorite.  Another old trio set of his on Impulse is Nights of Ballads and Blues. 

[vinyl_guy]

I have had a different expereince with AI products and found them to be the most effective vinyl cleaning products on the market. I use both the 2-step with the Super Cleaner as the 2d step and the #15 as a one-step cleaner. I follow both with a rinse of reverse osmosis, deionized water I buy from culligan in a 5 gal bottle for less than $3.00. Both the 2-step and the #15 do a great job of cleaning the records, including removing mold release compounds. I also have used and ocassionally still use Disc Doctor's Miracle Record Cleaner. I tried the NG fluids several years ago, but did not find them as effective as Disc Doctor or AI.

I have some of Paul's endozime operating room cleaner and it does an excellent job too. I add a little iso to it.

I use both the Disc Doctor felt pad brushes and the AI nylon bristle brushes and have a steamer for those really dirty records.

[neobop]

The stuff I tried was Premium One-Step Formuls No 6.  They say:
There’s no mystery with the name of this innovative record cleaning product:  It was born from the sixth experimental formulation that we tried.  We could have also called it “The Best One-Step Record Cleaning Formula Available. 

Silly me, I thought it might be good with just one step.  No such luck. Maybe they do a nice two step or three step, but I wasn't dancing.  For a really cruddy old record I just do it a couple of times, or take it to the kitchen sink, clean it up first. My point was that enzymes alone might not get it.
"I have some of Paul's endozime operating room cleaner and it does an excellent job too. I add a little iso to it."

I don't see a stigma with isopropyl or detergent. You can always rinse.

[BPoletti]

I haven't had the mildew problem though some used records I've purchased did have that musty smell. 

Good old Lysol Cleaner is a very good anti-bacterial / anti-mold / anti-mildew cleaner.  According to the instructions (I know, but sometimes it's actually a good idea to READ the instructions), one ounce in a pint of water is appropriate to disinfect.  Apply (I would scrub lightly to get good penetration into the grooves) and let the solution stand for 3 minutes, then rinse. 

Lysol Cleaner contains lysergic acid which dissolves the cell membrane.  Combines with a mild detergent, Lysol kills the organisms and then cleans the surface.  Lysergic acid itself is a very mild reactant which should not harm the vinyl. 

If I were using this solution, it would be as a pre-wash for a regular cleaning.  Probably not a bad idea to use a similar solution as a pre-cleaner for any used record purchases.  It's not like it's an expensive record cleaner.

YMMV.

Not sure it that would work, but Lysol is what we used as the disinfectant in the bacteria lab in college. 

Bill